Lost Like Tears In The Rain
by Mynameischloe
Summary: Rachel unexpectedly shows up on Eddie's doorstep whilst Philip and Melissa are away. Has she finally realised she loves him to too much to let him go?


**Lost Like Tears In The Rain**

Eddie descended the stairs cautiously, drawn to the frantic sounds of someone's knuckles pounding against his front door. He frowned – Mel and Philip weren't expected home for another few hours and neither was stupid enough to forget to take a key with them (Well, Mel might have managed it, he joked to himself). But if it wasn't them then who was it? He glanced at the clock in the hallway; half eleven. Who would be calling at this late hour? He thought about leaving it, surely whoever it was would come back in the morning if it was important; he had just called it a night after all. Curiosity got the better of him, however, and he slowly closed the gap between himself and the front door, pulling back the lock and easing it open slightly.

"Rachel?" He asked confusedly, taking in the sudden, unplanned appearance of the headmistress of Waterloo Road on his doorstep. "What – " He began but faltered, noticing the way she was shaking uncontrollably. Her hair was plastered thickly around her face and the way her clothes were ten times a darker shade than they should be formed an immediate indication in his mind that she'd been stood outside in the rain – that was still unceremoniously falling around her – for a long time. She looked so fragile, so lost and alone, and it petrified him. Seeing her with all her defences completely broken down was territory he wasn't used to being in with Rachel Mason.

Wordlessly he reached out to her, wrapping his fingers around the top of her arms and gently pulling her into the house. He hadn't detected her tears until now, when there were no raindrops for them to be disguised in. It physically hurt him; he could practically feel his heart breaking inside his chest as the scene unfolding before his eyes. He felt entirely helpless. His voice searched for the right words to comfort her, anything to reassure her that everything was going to be alright no matter what had happened, anything to let her know that he was here for her and always would be. She shuddered violently and he couldn't stop himself rearranging his grip on her so that his arms were wrapped around her waist, pulling her into him tightly, hoping that his warmth would somehow fizzle through her wet clothes and onto her freezing skin. He felt her mould into his embrace, her hands reaching up and draping around his shoulders, her head resting against his chest at just the right height to allow him to place his chin affectionately on top of her damp hair.

He wasn't sure how long they stood there until her voice finally broke the silence that had engulfed them.

"I'm sorry." She whispered solemnly into the material of his shirt. "I'm so, so sorry." Eddie pulled away from here slightly, his eyes locking onto the deep hazel of hers.

"What for?" He asked tenderly, using his thumb to brush away some of the newly formed tears that were falling down her cheeks. She didn't reply with words, choosing instead to study his face intently, as though looking for a sign of something. Whatever it was, she'd obviously found it because the next minute she had risen to her tiptoes and pressed her lips firmly against his own. He pulled away more due to surprise that anything else but instantly regretted it after seeing the pained expression written all over her face.

"I shouldn't have come," She muttered quickly, turning on her heel and heading back towards the door but Eddie had made his mind up before she'd even taken a few steps – there hadn't realistically been much of a decision to make – and rushed towards her retreating form, spinning her around to face him and frantically crushing his mouth atop of hers, backing her into the door she never quite made it to. There was no way he was letting her walk away from him again.

The kiss was frenzied and passionate, filled with a longing need for each other that neither could deny any longer. The spark he thought may have fizzled out when she'd turned his advances down on the first day of term seemed to blaze straight back into life again, burning brighter than ever before, sending bursts of electricity running through his veins , alighting his senses to the warm caress of her fingertips as they slipped underneath the hem of his t-shirt and danced across his skin lovingly. It was his turn to shudder and he felt her lips curve upwards into a smile, undoubtedly knowing the way her touch was affecting him. He pulled away from her again, staring deeply into her eyes and discovering that she had no intentions of stopping at just kisses.

Had she been planning this before she arrived? Was it why she had been so upset? What if Melissa came back? Just some of the questions that had zoomed through his mind at one hundred miles per hour as she recaptured his lips. She seemed to sense his apprehension.

"Tell. Me. You. Don't. Want. This." She whispered almost angrily, separating each word with a gentle butterfly kiss against the side of his neck. He suppressed a moan that was threatening to issue for his throat. She looked up at him, her eyes dark and lust-filled. "Tell me you don't need me as much as I need you, Eddie." Hearing his name fall from her lips was enough to wipe any trepidation from his mind, it was a sign that this was real, that this was really happening, that he was finally going to be able to show Rachel Mason just how much he loved her. In one swift movement, he hooked his arms underneath her thighs and lifted her weight as if she were made of feathers. He waiting till she locked her ankles together around his waist before carrying her up the stairs and to his bedroom, laying her down softly on top of the bed, the bed he shared with Melissa, the bed he'd had sex with Melissa in, the bed he was about to make love to her sister in.

He kissed her lips briefly again before beginning the slow, tantalising journey downwards. His hands simultaneously found the buttons of her damp shirt as he slowly began undoing each one.

"I want this," he muttered against the newly revealed flesh, his lips following the path the open buttons were making down her chest. She squirmed beneath him. "I need you," he continued, reaching her abdomen and running his hands across the silky smooth skin available to him. He peeled the garment away from her body agonisingly slowly, throwing it haphazardly over his shoulder and onto the floor. He ran his fingers across the rough edges of her scar lightly, knowing she'd be self-conscious about it. His eyes found hers again. "I love you." She reached down and cupped his face in her hands, pulling him up so he was level with her.

"I stood outside for four hours trying to work up the courage to knock on the door," she told him truthfully whilst prising the t-shirt from his body. Once it had joined hers on the floor, she continued, "I kept replaying the moment at the pub on the first day of term in my head. It was the biggest mistake of my life, turning you away." Still listening, he started to pull the still soaking wet skirt from her hips. "And then I kept thinking of Melissa and how much I couldn't do it to her," He paused briefly at the sound of his girlfriend's name.

"I don't love her, Rach," he clarified , freeing the fabric from her legs and flinging it to mingle with the rest of their strewn clothing. "I just... I didn't want to be alone anymore." Rachel smiled sympathetically at him, before dropping her eyes and hands so she could begin work on his belt. He stopped as she did to let his own eyes admire her magnificence as she lay in just her underwear beneath him. She was so beautiful; half of her damp, auburn hair clung delightfully to her shoulders whilst the other half feathered across the pillow behind her; her tiny waist and slightly toned stomach flowed deliciously into her hips forming the most perfect of curves. Her smooth legs were running subconsciously along his own still material-clad ones and the difference in textures was nearly unbearable so as soon as the belt was pulled away he irritably unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans and, with the help of Rachel, pulled them down and off quickly. He then lent down desperately, finding her lips in a deep and zealous kiss causing her to release a small moan into his mouth.

It seemed that all conversation was over for now as the kiss deepened. Eddie tried to convey every ounce of emotion he'd ever felt since the day he'd met her within it; the annoyance when she'd first arrived as Waterloo Road; the happiness when she'd reunited him with his son; the anger when he'd discovered her past; the forgiveness when she'd explained why; the distress when he'd found out she was being blackmailed; the satisfaction when he'd punched the blackmailer; the helplessness when she'd been stuck inside the burning school; the electricity that had shot through him when she'd appeared unexpectedly at the office door on the first day of the new term; the heartbreak when she'd turned him down and, now, the pure indescribable love that he'd waited for so long to express.

He pulled away breathless, running his hands over her body, covering every inch of skin he could, wanting to memorise every single contour. Her eyes fluttered shut under his touch. He smiled and moved away, hearing her groan in frustration at the loss of contact. He had no intentions of rushing this, he'd waited far too long for it to happen for it to be over in a flash. Oh no, he was going to make her wait, he was going to tease her until she quite literally couldn't take it anymore – if his own self control would allow that much. He shimmied down the length of her body until his head was level with her calf. He pressed a long, lingering kiss against the skin there and began the deliberate tormenting journey upwards, making sure no inch was left untouched. As he reached her thigh her hips began to arch involuntarily towards him.

"Eddie!" She gasped heatedly, furious with him that he'd stopped, shimmied back down and began the same journey on her other leg. From the corner of his eyes he could see her heads gripping at the bed sheets as the sensations ripped through her body. This time he didn't stop at her thigh, he continued upwards, his lips brushing against the lace of her knickers, finding the edge and pulling them as far down as he could with his teeth, completing the removal of the offending garment with his hands. She groaned frustratingly again when he didn't return to the place where she was burning for him, instead he insisted on another kiss, deliberately making sure his lips were the only thing touching her body as he hovered over her. She was physically shaking when he pulled away – not because of being cold as she was when she arrived, but due to the pure and insatiable need for him, for all of him.

He was caught slightly off guard – he'd been admiring her nearly naked form a bit too much – by her hand reaching between their bodies to gently stroke his hardness through the material of his boxers. His arms nearly collapsed under his weight as white-hot pleasure seared through him relentlessly. His control was wavering and he fought against it with all his might, grasping both her hands in one of his and pulling them up, pinning them above her head. With his free hand, he reached behind her and, after fiddling around a little – he was a man after all – he managed to unclasp her bra and fling it unceremoniously over his shoulder. Almost immediately his lips were tormenting her neck whilst his hands cautiously moved to roam over her newly-revealed breasts. She threw her head back in pleasure, crying out loudly as his thumbs brushed across her nipples. Her fingers found themselves tangled in his hair, scraping her nails against his scalp, telling him without words exactly how he was making her feel.

"Eddie, please." She whimpered, as his lips replaced his fingertips, gently nipping at the tender flesh. He smirked, knowing how insane he must be driving her, but he still had no intentions of stopping his teasing any time soon.

"Patience is a virtue, Miss Mason," he told her huskily, not even looking up. She groaned exasperatedly and he knew that if it were possible for her to string more than two words together she'd been cursing him with every name under the Sun. He smiled and for the second time that night came to the realisation that this was really happening. His hands began to roam over her body again, travelling gradually southwards. Another loud cry echoed around the room as he slipped one of his fingers inside her burning centre, finally able to feel exactly how much she really wanted him. Her own fingers clawed at his back as her hips bucked upwards into his hand, his thumb circling the tiny bundle of the nerves at the apex of her thighs.

"Eddie!" She was pleading now, her entire body shuddering. "Eddie, please! Need you!" The tone of her voice was enough to undo him, every last drop of self control he'd tried so hard to keep hold of had just flown instantly out of the window. He allowed her hands to shakily snake down his chest, pushing his boxers down. He finished her work quickly, kicking them off and leaning forward to capture her lips in a bruising kiss. He felt her legs wrap themselves around his waist, her ankles locking just below his spine. He lined himself up at her warm entrance, freezing momentarily to lock his eyes onto hers, checking that this was still what she wanted. He saw no hesitancy, no uncertainty, just raw desire and an animalistic need that almost scared him to look at.

"Oh!" They cried simultaneously as he moved his hips forwards slowly, sliding into her and filling her completely, their foreheads pressing together. He remained still for a minute, coming to terms with the state of unadulterated bliss that had taken over his entire body. It felt like every nerve in his body was on fire. Every inch of his skin is tingling. Every instinct was telling him to take her hard and fast – she probably wanted him too as well – but he knows that he can't, he knows that it would be over too soon. He wanted this to last. He wanted this to be perfect and so he begins to slowly and deliberately thrust into her body, setting a steady pace that is almost lazy, looking into her eyes the entire time. He couldn't describe it, couldn't comprehend for one second the enormity of what they were doing.

They rocked together in perfect synchronicity, engulfed by the electricity that had forced its way from her body and into his, stripping him bare of every sense except of that to feel. All thought was wiped from his mind and all that mattered was Rachel, his Rachel. She was perfect. Beautiful. Selfless. Strong. To ever think he could have moved on from her was absurd, he'd been suffocating. She was his oxygen, his everything, he needed her with such intensity that it was almost painful. She filled the empty part of him that had been present for a long time in his life. As his movements began to increase in speed on their own accord, his head resting in the curve of her neck, he realised that he was complete.

Her name was escaping from his lips in a whisper without him realising and she was reciprocating with his, over and over again like their own personal mantra. The coil inside of his stomach began to tighten and he knew he wasn't going to last much longer. A thin line of sweat layered his body in the effort he was using to keep going, to not stop. He never wanted to stop, he wanted it to last forever.

"Eddie," Her voice was soft, controlled, elegant. He looked up at her, forcing himself to slow down and admire her flushed face, dark eyes and pouting lips. She reached up and cupped his face in her hands looking the most vulnerable he'd ever seen her, pulling him down into a delectable kiss. And then she whispered four words delicately in his ear, four words which had the power to make his heart explode in contentment, four words he'd waited for what felt like a lifetime to hear, four words he'd never, ever forget for as long as he lived. "I love you too."

He didn't reply, instead used what was left of his energy to thrust into her hard, trying to explain how much her words had meant to him, how much they had saved him. Suddenly she was shuddering beneath him, her muscles clamping down firmly around him, a strangled cry issuing from her lips as she buried her head in his shoulder, allowing herself to fall over the edge and land gracefully into a paradise of bliss and harmony. It was too much for him to take and it was only seconds later before he joined her in perfection, shouting her name and collapsing on top of her breathlessly.

How long they lay together, he didn't know, but it was long after their breathing had returned to normal and the sweat on both their bodies had evaporated. His head rested on her chest and he could hear the steady sound of her heartbeat thumping through her skin. Her fingertips were absent-mindedly drawing circles against the top of his shoulders. They were encased inside a bubble where only each other mattered, without worries of who they were and where they were. It was surreal. Nothing could spoil the happiness that flitted through the air around them, nothing...

"Rachel, what are you doing?" He asked suddenly, as she pushed him off her of forcefully and jumped out of the bed. She began hurriedly locating her strewn clothes and she was already nearly half dressed by the time Eddie had realised what was going on. He rushed towards her and seized her frantic actions by gently wrapping his hands around her wrists so her hands were unusable.

"I have to go," she said quietly, nervously, talking more to his chest than to him, deliberately avoiding his gaze. He tried to pull her closer to him but she repelled. "Eddie, stop it. Mel..." She choked on her words, the ability to speak failing her mid-sentence and tears immediately began welling up inside her eyes. He pulled her towards him again and this time she didn't resist, melting into him and breathing heavily, willing her tears not to fall. "What are we going to do?" She whispered shakily. Eddie sighed, repeating the question in his head. If it were possible he'd pack a few sets of clothes into a bag, jump into the car with Rachel and just drive away; away from their job; away from their friends; away from the lives they'd built in Rochdale; away from Mel; away from everything they'd worked for to start a new life together, run away from it all.

But he knew they couldn't. He had a son here, he couldn't leave him. And they were both needed at Waterloo Road. Not in a career-based way, they could be easily replaced if need be, but the kids needed him, they needed Rachel even more so. She was an asset to the school, every young person inside those walls looked up to her, they'd be devastated if she just disappeared all of a sudden. He also knew that Rachel would be ridden with guilt if she were to hurt her sister in that way.

"I don't know," He told her truthfully, tightening his grip on her, becoming all too aware that Melissa and Philip were due home at any second. He wondered what Melissa would do if she walked in on him and Rachel like this. She'd kill him, most probably, especially after the amount of times he'd had to reassure her that there was nothing going on between himself and his boss. It'd destroy her if she ever found out he'd cheated on her with her older sister so there was only one thing for it. "I'm going to end it with her, Rach." Rachel pulled away slightly, raising her eyes to meet his, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Really?" She asked breathlessly.

"Yes. I can't lose you again. Not after tonight. We've wasted so much time already."

"We have,"

"And you don't need to be sorry."

"What?"

"When you first came tonight, you told me you were sorry."

"Oh yeah,"

"I love you, Rachel Mason."

"I love you too."

He kissed her tenderly before whispering softly in her ear:

"And we shouldn't have to be sorry for that."


End file.
